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INDIANA JONES
xvi. YOUR GREATEST FEAR

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PAST
NEVERLAND

ALL INDIANA COULD HEAR were the heartbreaking sounds of loud crying when she fell asleep that night. It was a wonder Indiana didn't hear it the first few nights she was on Neverland, but now that she did, she hated it. The Lost Boys all around her seemed to be wailing with streams of tears pouring down their faces like waterfalls. Each cried out for someone, typically a parent or possibly a sibling. It confused and fascinated Indiana Jones. She knew that the Lost Boys got their name from feeling lonely and unloved, specifically by their family. That was how the Shadow was drawn to them in the first place.

The thought had never occurred to Indiana that the Lost Boys would miss their families so much. She had always assumed that the majority of them were happy on Neverland, but it seemed as though they weren't. If anything, it sounded like they wanted to leave, yet be as happy and free as they were on Neverland.

Neverland was the place where imagination ran wild. It wasn't anything like Indiana had experienced throughout her 16-years of living. Though the Enchanted Forest had magic and Dark Ones, Neverland had children to run things. It gave off the impression to Indiana that literally anything could happen on Neverland. You could visit blood-thirsty mermaids, sword-fight for the heck of it, and even become friends with your own shadow. Anything could happen, including Peter Pan kicking off Round 3 of his little game without Indiana knowing.

As Indiana Jones went to sleep, the depressing song of crying didn't stop. In fact, it somehow became stronger and stronger until Indiana was sure that someone was screeching in her ears. As her eyes closed, her eyes opened to dreamland.

Indiana stood in the middle of the forest. She recognized it within a heartbeat that she was in the Enchanted Forest. The crying was coming from somewhere around her. It wasn't quiet, but it wasn't loud. It was like it was coming from just a few feet away from her. Therefore, Indiana began to walk toward the sound until she stumbled upon a small child sitting in the forest, crying with her knees pressed against her chest.

The brunette stared down at the child in surprise and looked around, searching for some kind of parental figure. But alas, it seemed that the child was alone. Indiana crouched beside her. "Are... Are you okay?" Indiana wondered with a soft voice.

The child looked up, staring back at Indiana with large, blue-green eyes. "My-My Aunt Lucy is d-d-dead."

Taking a step back, Indiana's eyes widened.

"A-A... Shadow stole her sh-shadow," the child continued, "a-and Lady W-Willow's... I don't know what's going to ha-happen to me." The child wiped some of the tears on her face. "Why w-w-would Killian Jones do this to me? I've never e-even met him bef-f-fore."

Suddenly, the scene began to fade as a new one took place. White flashed before Indiana's eyes until she was standing in an empty field. There was no one around. All she could see was the uncut grass and the trees that surrounded the perimeter of the field. Suddenly, figures began to walk out of the field. They were figures that Indiana recognized. There were about 6 figures. There was Aunt Lucy, Lady Willow, a young version of Indiana, Baelfire, Captain Hook, and Cora. They were the only people Indiana ever truly cared about.

Indiana smiled brightly at the sight of them, especially her aunt Lucy. As Indiana started to walk toward them, she came to a stop when each individual scowled at her. "Why would you leave me?" Lucy suddenly asked. Indiana's smile dropped. "You let the Shadow take my life. I took you in! I raised you as my own! Why did you leave me?"

She opened her mouth to reply to her aunt, but nothing came out. Instead, Lady Willow began to speak. "I gave you and Lucy discounts at the market when money was running low. This is how you thank me?" Willow asked in disgust. "You're nothing but a dirty pirate."

"Why did you never come look for me?" Baelfire continued for the two women. "You're just a coward! Just like my father! You're no better than the Dark One! You're a coward!"

"I can spot a man without honor with ease. You're one of them," Captain Hook spat. "You're no better than myself or the pirates on my crew! You're a... a demon!"

Young Indiana looked up at her older self with fear and curiosity glinting in her eyes. "Why are you the way that you are? Why do you kill people?" the little girl asked. "Why are you a monster?"

"I helped you when you were framed by someone you don't even know," Cora hissed, this time taking a step forward. "You think you can just get away without repaying me?"

"We should take her shadow! See if she likes it," Lucy declared. As Indiana tried to take a step back, she felt her feet were glued to the ground. She was unable to move and unable to protest. All she could do was stare at her loved ones with fear in her eyes.

The others all walked toward her, but before they could even touch Indiana, Peter Pan's shadow emerged from the horizon. He swept down and took the Shadows of each person, excluding young Indiana's. Finally, Indiana was able to say something. All she could screech was a high pitched, "No!"

Once the Shadow ripped each person's shadow, the individual would disappear. One by one, everyone disappeared. Young Indiana looked up at the older version of herself. "Why did you let it take everyone we care about?" the child asked. "We're... alone."

Tears began to pour out of Indiana's eyes as she crouched before the child. She took her in for a hug. "You're not alone," Indiana told her. "You won't have to be alone. You have me."

As she said that, the Shadow swooped back in and grabbed younger Indiana by the shoulders. "No! Please don't let it take me!" the child screamed.

Indiana's eyes widened as she tried to grab the child-version of herself. No matter how much she tried, the Shadow still took her. Now, she really was alone. Indiana fell onto her knees crying. Everyone she'd ever loved had been killed off right in front of her. She was alone.

The sound of footsteps caused Indiana to slowly pick her head back up. She spotted Peter walking toward her. Her eyes widened. Indiana jumped up and ran toward him. "Peter!" she exclaimed. When she noticed the blank facial expression on his face, she paused and furrowed her eyebrows. "W-What? What's wrong?"

Peter gazed into her eyes with a sad look in them. "Why did you leave me? I thought you loved me?" he asked.

Indiana froze up. "What? What are you talking about?"

"I loved you, yet you left me. Why?" Peter continued. As he did, his figure began to disappear into thin air. "Why did you leave me, Indie?"

Shooting up with a gasp, Indiana's eyes flew open. Sweat and tears mixed as they soaked her. Indiana placed a hand over her heart, which raced rapidly. She had never felt so horrified and sad in such a long time. Indiana never wanted to feel like that again. She had to keep pinching herself, reminding herself that she was only dreaming.

"Interesting."

Jolting up, Indiana snapped her head up to see Peter staring at her with curiosity written on his face. "W-What the--? Wh... Wh... I-I," Indiana stuttered, unable to form a proper sentence as she caught her breath.

Peter moved over, sitting directly in front of her. He placed his hands on either arm and said, "Hey. It's... um, it's okay. It was just a dream."

"W-What was th-that?" Indiana whimpered, feeling extremely vulnerable. Peter had never seen her like this. He had never seen any of the Lost Boys or any other girl as vulnerable as Indiana was.

"Another test," Peter sheepishly answered. He felt bad for what he had made the poor girl experience. He had never seen a reaction like that ever. Indiana stared at him, not understanding what he meant. "I was... testing your emotional strength by discovering your greatest fears." He tried to avoid her gaze, but it seemed impossible. "I wouldn't have deemed you for being Monophobic... the fear of being alone."

"Test," Indiana repeated, slowly getting ahold of herself. "You wanted to test me." She stared Peter dead in the eye as she continued. "You're a monster, Peter."

He couldn't help but feel guilty when she said that. But all he could say was, "I know."

Peter slowly got up.

"Get some rest. You start training in the morning."

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AUTHOR'S NOTE:

i actually feel so bad for putting indiana through that. basically if you're a little confused, indiana has monophobia aka the fear of being alone. she's been abandoned by her real family, then aunt lucy was killed right in front of her eyes.

not only is indiana fearful of being alone for the rest of her life, she's also afraid of being isolated from the truth. for 16 years, indiana's done nothing but survive and try to find out why her family abandoned her, along with trying to find killian jones (even though he's been here this whole time).

indiana's always left people after some point (like Cora, for example) because she's afraid of becoming so attached that when they leave her, she'll feel even worse about being alone. she had only felt this once and that was when lucy died.

so peter's actually feeling guilty for what he put indiana through. an emotional bond is going to start to build between indiana and peter, now that he's seen a part of her that no one's really ever seen before. however, indiana doesn't want this. she just wants to finish this mission and go home to finally get some answers. but how much longer will it take?